The Wildlife Trust's North Sea Wildlife Project

Secrets of the sea emerge - as new marine legislation celebrated

Two sponge species – one previously unknown to science1 and one new to the UK2 – have been discovered during a diving expedition in UK waters.

The Wildlife Trusts are celebrating the exciting finds the same week new legislation – the Marine and Coastal Access Act – is expected to be passed. The marine sponges were discovered in the Isles of Scilly and examined by Dr Claire Goodwin, from National Museums Northern Ireland.  Marine biologists and recreational divers found them during a week of exploratory diving as part of a Seasearch survey.  More than 260 sponges were sampled during 12 dives. Sponges are important components of marine habitats; simple animals which attach themselves to rock. 

A rare species of hydroid (a type of feathery-looking animal related to anemones) (Polyplumaria flabellata) was also recorded by expert Dr Keith Hiscock, from the Marine Biological Association, along with a new site for the rare and beautiful solitary sunset cup coral (Leptopsammia pruvoti).Seasearch divers David Kipling, Sarah Bowen and Emily Priestley discovered the sea slug, Discodoris rosi, crawling over the rocks.  This bright orange sea slug has only ever been recorded twice before in the UK.  It is usually normally found further south in the Atlantic.

For the last 20 years the marine environment has not been sustainably managed.  The Marine and Coastal Access Bill, if effectively implemented, will provide the chance to conserve these rare and threatened species.

 

Joan Edwards, The Wildlife Trusts’ head of Living Seas, said: “These finds are incredibly important and come as we celebrate the passage of the Marine and Coastal Access Act. Although some sites are well dived, there is still much we don’t know about the rich and diverse marine life we have around the UK.  All the data collected during dives builds a better understanding of the unique and special marine environment, creating a stronger foundation to help conserve it for the future.

We will continue to press for strengthened provisions for marine wildlife conservation as our challenge now is to achieve real change.  New legislation is only the beginning.  The decisions made, and actions taken, over the next five years will determine the future of the UK’s seas.  This is a unique opportunity and we must seize it.”

 

The Wildlife Trusts’ chief executive, Stephanie Hilborne, added:  “We are indebted to our many thousands of supporters and members, who have helped us to champion the Marine Bill over the past decade. We have a vision for the future of the UK’s seas – Living Seas.  In Living Seas, wildlife thrives from the depths of the ocean to the coastal shallows.”

 

The Wildlife Trusts have campaigned for many years for new laws to provide better protection of marine habitats and wildlife, as well as improved management of activities at sea.  In 2007, The Wildlife Trusts gathered more than 170,000 petition signatures in support of a Marine Bill, presented on fish scales and passed them to the Secretary of State for the Environment at a campaign event in the House of Commons.

 

Other recent marine finds of note include:

• In September 2009, the nationally rare Couch’s goby (Gobius couchi), listed as a protected species, was spotted in Poole Bay by a local diver on a Seasearch survey with Dorset Wildlife Trust.
• Also in September, Easington Reef offered exciting finds after Seasearch North-East carried out exploratory dives there.  Species recorded include lobsters, crabs, a variety of starfish species, and fish including common sole (Solea solea), topknot (Zeugopterus punctatus) and the aptly named slippery looking butterfish (Pholis gunnellus).
• Kent Wildlife Trust’s Seasearch recently discovered ross coral (Pentapora foliacea) – previously recorded only as far east as Eastbourne and trigger fish (Balistes sp.) found in Dover harbour (only before found in Sussex, not Kent).
• The starlet sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis), listed as rare on the GB Red List of endangered species, was rediscovered at Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Cley Marshes in August 2009.
• In 2008, volunteers for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust became the first known scuba divers to find the short-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus) living in the Solent.

Editors' notes:
1 Axinella species – as yet unidentified.
2 Axinella flustra was originally described by Topsent in 1892 from Northern Spain and the Azores.  It was subseqently recorded from the Cape Verde Islands by Topsent (1928), Brittany by Cabioch (1968) and Guernsey in the Channel Islands (Ulster Museum records) so is very rare.  The only location this species was previously recorded is the Aran Islands, County Galway - so this is a new record for the UK.

• High resolution images of marine wildlife are available on request.
• Joan Edwards The Wildlife Trusts’ head of Living Seas is available for interviews. Joan has worked in marine conservation for over 20 years.  During that time she has campaigned for a Marine Bill, reduction in by-catch of dolphins and the successful case of banning scallop-dredging from the reefs of Lyme Bay.